A weighted blanket can warm up a life, help PTSD

Veteran Patrick Parks, looks out the window of his new apartment at the Veterans Academy, in San Francisco, on Friday, November 6, 2015. He can't remember the last time he got really good sleep.

Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, Freelance / Special to The Chronicle

Johny is a new friend of mine. At least through email and Facebook. She wrote me to tell me about a great cause she is involved in. I thought it would be make for a great story for you to read.

Johny took an early retirement a year ago. (I had to ask for forgiveness right away as that line made me a bit jealous.) But she did not want to just sit. Instead, she wanted to give something back. But with many outstanding organizations to choose from where she could volunteer her time that decision was not easy.

At least not until she realized there was a specific group that tugged at her heart. Her youngest child is in junior high and has had friends through the years with siblings who were autistic.

Social interactions with these families created an awareness of the daily struggles these families encounter.

Knowing what to do when other opportunities to "give back" had presented themselves had been easier: making sandwiches to give to the homeless, gathering clothing for a women's shelter, or assembling care packages for a teen crisis home. But how would she go about helping families with autistic children?

That's when prayer can open your eyes to something right in front of your eyes. That's what happened for Johny.

She had been involved in her church's prayer blanket ministry and at one point in time had made a blanket for a grandmother who was raising a grandchild who had Autism. That grandmother came to her and asked her if she could make a weighted blanket for her grandson.

What happened next is exciting. Johny conducted a lot of research to make him one. Along the way the process evolved, eventually finding a better way to make them than other options that were available. Word was sent out to organizations and families who could benefit from these special blankets as research shows that weighted lap blankets provide a calming pressure for those needing help with sensory processing.

After getting positive feedback and photos from families that were helped, she enlisted the prayer blanket ministry at her church to help produce the weighted blankets. Now, not only do families not have to pay to receive a blanket, they get one custom made for their child. Better yet, it's been prayed over by many loving hands. Hands with a heart for these special children.

Imagine what it would be like to hear from a mother who tells you, "My child can finally sleep at night." And imagine what it would be like to find yourself in the middle of this story.

You can, you know. Maybe you've wanted to do something too to give back but you didn't fit traditional ministries at church or in the community. But you can sew. Johny says, "Anyone who can sew a straight line can learn how to do this and in turn, can start making these for their community."

Or maybe you know a family that could benefit from these blankets. They may not see this article, but you have. You may be the "thread" that connects them to a resource that could have a warm effect on their lives.

And one last way this may help someone: Johny has received her first request for a blanket for an adult with PTSD. There is significant research that shows that weighted blankets put on soldiers who have PTSD is calming and helps them sleep.

So, if you can sew or you know anyone who could benefit from a weighted blanket, or if you would like more information, just write to weightedwonders@outlook.com. You'll sleep better knowing you helped someone else sleep better. And that's a good night for everyone.